Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) Short Interest Up 20.2% in May

Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,340,000 shares, a growth of 20.2% from the April 30th total of 3,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 527,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.2 days. Approximately 10.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AORT. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Artivion from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $31.40.

Artivion Trading Down 0.5%

AORT traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.98. 348,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,924. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,449.10 and a beta of 1.62. Artivion has a 1-year low of $21.97 and a 1-year high of $32.33.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $98.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.81 million. Artivion had a positive return on equity of 5.15% and a negative net margin of 0.22%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Artivion will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Artivion news, insider John E. Davis sold 15,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total transaction of $356,511.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 208,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,929,248.58. The trade was a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 18,020 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total transaction of $425,452.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 197,184 shares in the company, valued at $4,655,514.24. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,942 shares of company stock worth $1,704,794. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artivion

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Artivion by 4.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,727,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,460,000 after acquiring an additional 67,327 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Artivion by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,041,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,791,000 after purchasing an additional 226,160 shares in the last quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC boosted its position in shares of Artivion by 107.6% during the 1st quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 1,022,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,140,000 after purchasing an additional 530,122 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Artivion by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 463,250 shares of the company's stock worth $13,244,000 after purchasing an additional 42,170 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Artivion by 31.0% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 401,904 shares of the company's stock worth $9,879,000 after purchasing an additional 95,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.37% of the company's stock.

About Artivion

Artivion, Inc manufactures, processes, and distributes medical devices and implantable human tissues worldwide. The company provides BioGlue, a polymer consisting of bovine blood protein and an agent for cross-linking proteins for cardiac, vascular, neurologic, and pulmonary procedures; cardiac preservation services; PhotoFix, a bovine pericardial patch; and aortic arch stent grafts including E-vita Open Plus and E-vita Open Neo.